Marco Bezzecchi
Davide Brivio has explained why Valentino Rossi’s move to Yamaha ahead of the 2004 MotoGP season was a ‘crazy decision’, and it sounds an awful lot like Jorge Martin’s move to the Iwata-based constructor for next year.
Aprilia set the MotoGP grid alight during the early stages of the 2026 season, with Marco Bezzecchi currently leading the standings ahead of teammate Jorge Martin.
The Italian rider has won three of the four Grands Prix to be held so far, and has emerged as a leading candidate to secure a maiden title in the premier class this season.
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Sitting just 11 points behind in the championship is Martin, who is also a leading figure with the bookmakers.
However, Aprilia’s rider line-up is expected to be different next year, with it being reported that Martin will be replaced by Francesco Bagnaia at Noale in light of the Spaniard’s expected move to backmarkers, Yamaha.
- READ MORE: Jorge Martin had ‘serious doubts’ about his 2027 Yamaha move after seeing their bike in Thailand
Davide Brivio says Valentino Rossi’s decision to sign for Yamaha in 2004 was ‘crazy’
In a recent interview with Moto.it, former team principal for the factory Yamaha outfit, Davide Brivio, detailed the events that led to Valentino Rossi departing from Honda in favour of their local rivals ahead of the 2004 season.
The Italian began by highlighting how the sentiment regarding Honda’s riders at the time was that they were only winning due to the incredible performance of the factory’s prototypes. According to Brivio, this is what led Rossi to Yamaha’s doorstep.
Will Jorge Martin regret leaving Aprilia to join Yamaha?
“They were dominant, and maybe it was easy for some to think that with other riders, they would have won just as well,” Brivio said. “We, on the other hand, thought we needed a rider of that level.
“So our approach was: if you come to us, we can win; if you don’t come, it will be very difficult for us. Perhaps he heard what he wanted to hear, because one of the reasons for his choice was that everyone said he was only winning thanks to Honda.
“He wanted to prove the opposite, and that’s exactly what we were looking for. We had the same interest.”
Brivio then highlighted how big the decision was for The Doctor, adding, “It was a crazy decision at the time, if you like, on his part.
“To leave the best bike for a bike that, as a factory team, hadn’t even managed a single podium that year, just one in the wet with Barros at a satellite team. It was a very brave decision that ultimately added so much more value to his career and his successes.”
- READ MORE: Jorge Martin makes strange statement about Yamaha prospects after signing for their MotoGP team
Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha signing sounds an awful lot like Jorge Martin’s 2027 move
With Jorge Martin expected to be moving to Yamaha for the 2027 MotoGP season, he has seemingly replicated Rossi’s move to the Japanese factory.
The MotoGP standings don’t lie. With four rounds of the 2026 campaign now in the books, the factory Aprilia team hold a 1-2 in the riders’ standings, as well as a one-two in the teams’ standings with Trackhouse currently occupying P2.
On the opposite end of that equation is Yamaha, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the standings for the second successive year.
Of course, MotoGP’s new era of regulations next year suggests that Yamaha could potentially make a big step with the new ruleset, but Aprilia are clearly a step ahead of the competition right now, so one could be forgiven for labelling Martin’s switch as ‘crazy’.
However, if Yamaha prove to be amongst the front-runners next year, the move could also be seen as a masterstroke for the 2024 world champion.
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